Take Me There
by HopelessRomantic45
Summary: Songfic. Take Me There by Rascal Flatts. Wes wants to know why Jen acts the way she does. After she opens up and then closes herself off again, Wes fights back and asks for a real explanation.
1. I Wanna Know

**Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers Time Force or the words that are in this chapter that come out of the episode.**

**A/n: Well, I've always wanted to do a Time Force story. Then I heard "Take Me There" by Rascal Flatts, and I thought that it would be perfect. So this is at the end of "Trust and Triumph", which you'll find out pretty quick. **

Four of the five rangers opened the door to the clock tower and headed inside. Their small talk consisted of the previous battle against Turtlecon.

"Nice shooting," Katie applauded.

"Yeah, but we could always use more target practice." Jen said mater of fact as she started to go up the stairs.

"That's why I want to show you my idea of target practice." Wes announced suddenly from the top of the stairway. Jen stopped and looked at him with confusion. "Come on!" And with that, Wes grabbed Jen's hand and pulled her up into the loft. The other three rangers followed, not sure what to expect.

"Come on!" Wes said again.

"Okay, okay!" Jen withdrew her hand as they entered the loft.

"You gotta see this." Wes told all of them. As all the rangers got to the top of the stairs, they saw boxes and tables covered with paper cut outs of monsters.

Jen looked over at Wes, and wasn't sure if she wanted to shoot him or agree that it was a good idea. She had told him her story about Alex and the Shooting Range, and knowing Wes, something was about to happen.

"Come on." Wes held up a gun with two plastic bullets sticking out. "I'll show ya."

Jen turned away, trying not to smile.

"Give it a try, Jen!" Circuit encouraged. So Jen took the gun and held it up, trying to figure out what it was and how it worked. She looked at Wes, who was watching her closely. So Jen held out the gun, aimed, and fired, missing the targets by a good foot.

The others tried to hide their laughter, and with Katie in the lead, they walked over and put their hand on Jen.

"Obviously this gun needs readjustments." Jen admitted. The others laughed. Wes reached into his pocket and pulled out two more bullets.

"Let me try," Wes said, taking the gun from Jen. He reloaded it and shot, hitting a target. Then he released another one from behind his back, and hit another target.

"Good job, Wes!" Trip exclaimed as Wes looked over to see Jen glaring at him. Wes blew at the top of the gun teasingly.

"Alright, hotshot." Jen said.

"Here, you get one more try." Wes reloaded the gun and handed it back to Jen. This time, as Jen aimed, Wes reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. Jen blanched and turned to look at Wes, remembering Alex so clearly. Wes finally noticed Jen wasn't paying attention, and turned to her.

"What, you still don't trust me?" Wes asked.

"Yeah, I do." Jen couldn't take her eyes away from Wes as she nodded her head. She tried to smile, but felt her heart quickening.

Wes shook his head and they both turned back to the gun. Jen held the gun tight, Wes's hand still on top of hers, and thought seriously about the target. Wes let go at the last second, she shot, and hit the target square in the chest.

Wes laughed, and Jen gave a true smile. But then she handed the gun back to Wes and headed up towards her bed, buried deep in her thoughts. Wes' glee slowly turned into a frown. He threw the gun on the ground and sat down at a bench, putting his head in his hands.

"What is it, Wes?" Trip asked cautiously.

"Does she always do that?" Wes wondered, pointing off in the direction Jen had just left. "You think you've made her happy, and then she runs off."

"We've tried to make her stop," Katie said. "But Alex being gone made it worse. She was always a hard worker. Now it's an…"

"Obsession." Wes finished. "Has she ever told you guys anything?"

"I know her Mom left when she was little." Katie told him.

"And I think her Dad was a Time Force Officer." Lucas added.

"She had a dog." Trip said loudly, trying to help. "I saw a picture."

"But that doesn't explain why she's so…cold!" He got off the table and started walking around. "She opened up to me, when we were getting you guys out. And I thought I had done it, I got Jen to talk. So I put this together, thinking that it would be fun, and she would realize I was glad she had met Alex. But all I did was…"

"It_was_ fun." Jen said, coming back down the stairs. The others froze on the spot, not sure if they should stay or leave. "It was just…too much Alex at once." Jen stayed at the entrance to the loft, keeping a safe distance. "Could you guys…leave?"

Katie, Lucas, and Trip nodded and walked past Jen out of the Clock Tower. Jen took a few tentative steps towards Wes, but stopped and crossed her arms over her chest. Her body language screamed nervous and afraid.

"Do you really think I'm cold?"

"No!" Wes answered automatically. "I mean…that wasn't the right word. You keep to yourself a lot. And you snap at people. And…"

"Like this morning?" Jen asked with a small smile.

"_After this morning, how am I supposed to trust you?" _

"_Okay, okay! So I messed up. But you know what, Jen? Trust is a two way street." _

"_Meaning what?!" _

"_You expect us to trust you to lead us. No matter what you say, we do it. But you don't trust us enough to open up. You never let anybody in. " _

"_I'm not here to open up to you! I'm here to capture Ransik." _

"_See, see, and that's what I mean, it is all business with you, Jen!"_

"I may have been more worried about the mission than usual."

"Than usual?" Wes threw back loudly. "I don't think a normal Time Force Officer would have yelled at me for ten minutes."

Jen stood in stunned silence, wringing her hands together in front of her.

"I'm sorry," Wes started. "I…"

"No, you're right. I'm not like other Officers."

Wes sat down at the table and patted the seat next to him. Jen hesitantly walked over and sat next to him.

"I guess I'll tell you something else no one's ever known about me." Jen started. "I grew up…"

**A/n: I was going to have this be one chapter, but there's a lot to write, so it's going to be two. Please let me know what you thought!**


	2. Never Had to Ask

**There's a place in your heart where nobody's been.  
Take me there.  
Things nobody knows, not even your friends.  
Take me there.  
Tell me about your momma, your daddy, your home town, show me around.  
I wanna see it all, don't leave anything out.**

"I grew up right here in Silver Hills. A mom and a dad, one older brother, and eventually a younger sister. Right after my mom had Julia, James started racing. He loved it so much." Jen smiled and a laugh escaped her lips, but tears filled her eyes. "So, we all decided to go watch one of his races. He waved up at us, sitting right above the finish line, smiling so big I thought for sure his mouth would fall off. I was only five but I could never forget that smile.

"After a while, of course, I started getting bored. You can only sit and watch cars zoom around a track so many times. So I started whining, asking when we were going to go home. Dad told me to be quiet, and even Mom, who never liked racing, told me not till the end of the race. So I sulked, and wished that the race would be over really soon. Then I heard a loud boom, and looked over at fire, smoke, and curling metal."

Wes opened his mouth, trying to say something, and not sure what was the best way to comfort the crying pink ranger.

"It was a total accident. Someone took the corner too sharp and caused a huge pileup. But when your brother is the only one who dies out of ten, and his is the only one scorched with flames, you don't think it's an accident."

Jen was silent for a while, sniffling occasionally, and only looking down at the hands shaking in her lap. Wes was about to tell Jen that she didn't have to go on when she spoke.

"Not a lot happened after that. I never managed to ask how my parents dealt with that kind of loss. They were both Time Force Officers, and once James died, I practically never saw them. I guess that's where I get my busyness, from them. Working is so much easier than mourning.

"So, until I was 15, it was almost like I didn't have any parents. And then, just like that, I actually didn't."

"Jen…" Wes started. He was regretting ever wanting to know Jen's past, because two losses was too much for someone to handle, let alone talk about.

"It was a lot like Ransik to us. The worst criminal, finally caught, and then he escaped and killed both my parents. I was barely 16, and had to get a job and care for my 11-year old sister."

"How did you do that?" Wes asked in disbelief.

"I pushed all my thoughts out of my head. My schedule was wake up, make breakfast, go to school, work until 8, make dinner, do my homework, go to bed. I lost all my friends, who weren't sure how to deal with my temper or what to do when I started crying. It was me and Julia, and that was it."

"Jen…" Wes was hesitant, expecting another yelling match as he reached out and took both of Jen's hands in his. "You have the four of us now. You don't have to depend on yourself. It's okay to ask for help."

**I wanna know, everything about you.  
And I wanna go, down every road you've been.  
Where your hopes and dreams and wishes live, where you keep the rest of your life hid.  
I wanna know the girl behind that pretty stare.  
Take me there.**

Jen was only half listening, her attention focused on Wes's last action. Warmth was spreading through her body as his hand squeezed hers gently. She was trying to wrap her mind around the last few minutes, where she had actually bared her soul to another person, and Wes didn't seem to be judging her.

"Where is Julia now?" Wes asked.

"Staying with an aunt." Jen whispered. She finally looked up and connected with the eyes of the red ranger. "You said I can ask for help?"

"Well, yeah."

"I've never had to ask for help." Jen could feel herself shaking her head for an unknown reason. Tears began to slip down her face.

"Hey," Wes breathed. He put his arms around Jen. Jen stiffened unconsciously, and then tried to relax into Wes's hold. Slowly, Jen pulled away.

"I'm sorry…"

"No, it was what I needed." Jen cut him off. She smiled and put her hand on Wes's cheek. "I'll tell you that story too, if you want."

"No, we'll save that for a different day." Wes said. "We have to get our rest so we can save the world."

Jen laughed. Wes got to his feet and held out a hand. Jen took it gratefully and smiled as she was pulled upwards.

"Goodnight," Jen told him as they stood facing each other.

"Have wonderful dreams," Wes said. Jen laughed again, enjoying the feeling of being truly happy with someone.

"You too."

And they both turned and headed to their separate beds, finally having broken through the wall of friendship.

**A/n: I don't know if I'm done or not. I might add more, I may not. It depends on how busy I get once school starts again. But reviews, please!**


End file.
